The Lovefeast service consists of the ordinances of feet washing, the fellowship meal, and the communion of the bread and cup. In this article, we examine the fellowship meal.
The New Testament Basis: It was from supper (John 13:4) that Jesus arose to wash the disciple’s feet. The word supper is translated from deipnon, a Greek word meaning “a simple evening meal.” The Corinthian believers had abused the Supper (1 Corinthians 11:20) and made it a time of feasting for some and of near starvation for others, but Paul sought to correct the abuses, and the Church continued to observe the “feasts of charity” (Jude 12).
Not the Jewish Passover: The Supper which Jesus instituted was eaten before the time for the Passover. Compare John 18:28 with John 13:1. The Passover was still future; the Supper was all over. True, the meal was called the “Passover” before the disciples engaged in it, but not after the meal was over. Then, after the Supper was over, the disciples knew it had been something different. The manner of preparation and the concluding circumstances also marked a difference between the Supper and the Passover. Compare Exodus 12:22 with Matthew 26:30.
The Meaning of the Symbol: The Supper is a symbol of brotherhood and peace. Eating together has always been an act of friendliness, and the Lord’s Table pictures the doctrine of Christian lope. When we sit down at the Lord’s Table, we show the world that we are not only one with Christ, but also we are one with one another. The Supper is also typical of the Great Supper at the end of the age. The Scriptures speak of a “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:9), and of Jesus hosting the saved ones (Luke 12:37) — and the Lord’s Supper points forward to that great table in glory when Jesus will gird himself “and make them sit down to eat, and will come forth and serve them.”
The observance of the evening meal (along with the feet washing and communion service) was dropped generally by churches during the Fourth Century A.D., but the early Brethren at Schwarzenau revived the practice, and these ordinances should be eagerly observed today, for “happy are ye if ye do them”
(John 13:17).
May/June 1975